After winning silver in the inaugural team event, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir will look to fix some errors in their performance.

The team figure skating competition saw Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir help Canada claim a silver medal on Sunday -- though Moir found himself as the only member of the team not to receive a celebratory bouquet.

SOCHI, RUSSIA—Before Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir had even stepped foot on the ice, all the medals were locked in.

They could have danced like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and it would not have made an iota of difference. Russia had won gold in the inaugural team event and Canada was clinched into silver with a mathematically insurmountable lead over the bronzed Americans.

So much for sporting suspense on Day 3 of this screwy and contrived Olympic feature.

It definitely needs a rethink. But that’s two extra days of figure skating, and thousands of extra tickets sold, to say nothing of the value-added TV time. Television loves girls in sequins and revealing costumes.

For Russia, on the strength of some dazzling performances by 15-year-old
Julia Lipnitskaia and irrepressible showman Evgeni Plushenko
, it was the first gold awarded to the host nation, with President Vladimir Putin in the audience at the
Iceberg
. A rout, too, it could be said, as the Russian skaters racked up 75 points to 65 for Canada and 60 for the U.S. In none of the four disciplines did Russia finish any lower than third.

For Canada, however, it was a good thing that there were no marbles riding on the defending Olympic champions’ free skate performance. While they insisted otherwise, the usually sublime dancers were distinctly off their game in a skating discipline where hundredths of a point can make the entire difference. And that’s worrisome as the skaters now segue to their individual competitions.

Virtue and Moir committed several obvious errors: A hesitation on the opening curved lift, a slight stumble on a straight footwork sequence and a sloppy dismount off another lift.

They’ve simply looked out of sync in Sochi, not the smooth and technically brilliant skaters to whom we’ve all become accustomed. And this has nothing to do with the alleged score-fixing scheme between Russian and American judges as reported in French sports magazine
L’Equipe
, unless that controversy has disrupted their focus, which Virtue and Scott adamantly deny.

Seven points separated the Canadians from American rivals Meryl Davis and Charlie White when the dance segment was concluded. They trailed their training partners in every marked column and had inferior levels. Further, the free dance — to
Petit Adagio
, a waltz by a Russian composer — is not particularly becoming for the team. It might almost be described as dull, certainly in comparison to last season’s breathtaking
Carmen
.

The routine was choreographed by their Russian-born coach
Marina Zoueva
, who’s also coach-choreographer for Davis and White. The reigning world champions are beaming in on a first-ever ice dance gold for the U.S. Was it just happenstance that, on the weekend that both Canada and the U.S. held their national championships last month, Zoueva chose to be at the Americans’ side in Boston rather than with her Canadians in Ottawa?

One does begin to wonder. But perhaps it’s just being in Russia that makes a girl start seeing clandestine plots everywhere.

“It’s not fun to be seven points behind in the free program,” said Moir afterwards. “We don’t plan on being there in a week.”

He did acknowledge the strangeness of skating when everything had already been decided. “It was a weird feeling. We really tried not to talk about it. It’s so odd, going out there in an Olympic venue, with all the pressure. We knew we’d have a good skate to set us up for a week from now. But we also want to go out there and get 10 points for our team.”

Yet both Moir and Virtue professed to be pleased with the skate. “A couple of areas we had to fight a little bit but over all was a great skated. No matter what anybody says, ice dancing is a demanding sport and we packed that program full of really difficult elements. We’re gassed every time we do it.”

On the first error, Virtue struggled to get into proper position for the lift. “Not to blame it on the ice but I think I just hit a rut. I thought we recovered pretty well and managed to execute that lift.”

She did look pretty though in a new red costume designed to evoke a
Faberge egg
.

Virtue and Moir were the only Canadians in the team event to skate both the long and short programs. In the men’s segment, Kevin Reynolds took over from Patrick Chan for the free and was impressive in landing three quads, though he stepped out of a triple Axel.

“I’m feeling really good after this performance,” said the 23-year-old from Coquitlam, B.C., who missed the Grand Prix season because of boot issues. “I’m very, very happy that I was able to get a strong performance here, my first time at the Olympic Games, handling a different kind of pressure. It set me up well for the rest of the week.”

Reynolds earned a score of 167.92, second only among the five finalists to Plushenko.

It was very much a triumphant moment for the 31-year-old Russian, who now owns medals from four Olympics. The two career gold and two silver are a record for modern-era figure skaters.

“You know, around me, such a great team. They helped me a lot. I skated for them, and for my sons,” said Plushenko, as he was escorted through the mixed zone by his wife, music producer Yana.

“Gold, silver, bronze, it doesn’t matter … But still I would like more. I like being first.”

He performed to musical number that was in itself a tribute to him, called “Best of Plushenko”. The crowd was at his feet.

“This Games is the hardest for me,” he maintained. “All the fans are cheering so hard that you literally cannot do badly because they do everything with you. You get goose bumps.”

As Russia’s only male singles skaters in these Games, Plushenko was forced to skate short and long and then will have to do it again later. Sunday night, he played it on the safer side, executing only one quad. His long-time coach, Alexei Mishin, said that was a tactical decision.

“It was my plan. In a team tournament ... we did not have a plan to improve his image or to surprise. It was a practical question, to help the Russian team be as high as possible.”

Mishin said Plushenko’s problematic back — he’s had a dozen surgeries over the years — had started to stiffen in the second half of the program, which is why he ditched or moderated a couple of jumps. “Compared with other skaters, maybe he did less. But his personality, his charisma, he’s skating with a broken aorta, with the blood, you understand?”

Uh, no.

It was interpreted to mean Plushenko will go for the jugular when skating entirely for himself in the singles competition. “He did practical version, to be member of the team. He will skate completely different (later).”

In the women’s free, Lipnitskaia — the youngest Russian athlete here — was mesmerizing, a dozen points clear of American Gracie Gold. “She is a genius,” Plushenko marvelled.

Canada’s Kaetlyn Osmond, also skating both short and long, had some issues in the free, falling on a triple, and wound up last among the five finalists. But these are the first Olympics for the 18-year-old and she never lost her poise.

“It wasn’t perfect but it’s still really good for the first long program here, and to actually get that experience out and to learn that I could still fight through everything, it felt really good to do.”

Osmond will now leave Sochi to join teammate Gabrielle Daleman at their training base in Mannheim, Germany. “It’s to get away from the competition because it’s so busy and exciting here. When I come back it’ll feel fresh again.”

In her tiny hometown of Marystown, N.L., it seems like everybody is gathering to ogle their girl at the Games. A large screen has been erected in the town hall and lawn chairs set up for viewing. “I’ve seen pictures of the gatherings they’re having to watch my skates.”

It’s all been a wonderful whirlwind and the teenager is giddily processing the experience, the fame.

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